1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed toward remote control of a host system with a dual-mode mobile communications device (mobile device). Specifically a method is disclosed for seamlessly integrating PBX services, including voice mail services, into a mobile device for control by the user.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are very few systems that allow remote control of host systems from mobile devices. There are no known solutions that use a dual-mode mobile device to remotely control PBX and voice mail systems. In the area of related art the closest solution known to the author uses a browser-like method for controlling file viewing, file printing and file re-routing like to a fax machine. Some of these solutions can also act like a terminal emulator and thus allow the user to login to the company network and act like any other terminal user. These types of solutions are very far from what is described in this patent. In the field of phone technology there are also methods to call a service provider and turn call forwarding on or off, and change the call forwarding number. In this area an individual home phone, office phone, or cell phone can adjust some of the operating parameters but this has no multi-discipline effect on both voice and data information.
It is naturally possible to use two devices to perform some of the actions described in this patent, but these solutions have lots of problems and are prone to errors. For example one device is inevitably turned off, or has out of battery, or is out of reach in a suitcase or a travel bag. The elegance of having full control over the PBX and voice system is the ideal solution. There is also the problem of costs for all these devices to solve problems of data and voice notifications. By adding costs and requiring multiple devices to solve simple problems the number of users will to purchase such a solution goes down very quickly. Finally, there is a complete lack of elegance when two devices are required to deal with both voice and data to proper control over the host system. The mobile user expects simplicity and ease of use when deal with notifications, and acting upon notifications.
Therefore, there remains an important area of remote control of a host system, from a dual-mode mobile communication device, that has not been satisfied.